Jersey Boardwalk Fire Cause Still a Mystery

Investigators think they know what started the September 12 fire that torched five blocks of boardwalk and destroyed businesses in Seaside Heights, New Jersey: faulty electrical wiring damaged in Hurricane Sandy. What they don't know is who the wiring belonged to, and why it was not inspected before being re-energized following the storm.

The Asbury Park Press has this report: ("No one taking blame for Seaside fire," by Kristi Funderbunk). "It has been 2½ weeks since a sudden fire tore through five blocks of the boardwalk, and no one will say who owns the failed electrical wire that caused the blaze," the paper reports. "And borough officials have not yet produced inspection reports to show whether the orphan wires were inspected after superstorm Sandy, a week after the Asbury Park Press requested those documents through the Open Public Records Act."

Meanwhile, Philadelphia TV station NBC10 reports that demolition could start this week on the charred remnants of the ruined boardwalk ("Demolition on Seaside Boardwalk Could Start Next Week," by David Chang). "As officials work to get the project up and running, local contractors are already vying for the job," the station reports. "About a dozen demolition contractors toured the four blocks of the boardwalk in Seaside Heights and Seaside Park that were damaged in the September 12 inferno."